With the London 2012 Olympics fast approaching, H & E Smith, ceramic tile specialists from Stoke-on-Trent have been awarded the contract to refurbish the London Underground.

With visitors from all over the world flocking to the city, there has been a particular focus on the city’s transport links, as it is expected that there will be 7.7 million spectators in the capital over the course of the competition, with a further 1.5 million expected for the Paralympic Games.

By the end of this project wall tile refurbishment, will have taken place at over 30 London underground stations, including Tottenham Court Road, Covent Garden and Warwick Avenue, with requirements ranging from straightforward signage to decorative tiling and murals.

H & E Smith has long been suppliers of wall tiles to the London Underground, as not only do they have the capability of creating various tiles from plain durable wall tiles to bespoke patterns and letters, they also have specialist knowledge and creative production to provide any type of tile required.

Frederick Smith, Managing Director at H & E Smith, said: “We recognised that there was huge scope for us in London for refurbishment and maintenance work.  The work involved maintaining and matching tiles that are up to 100 years old, which is an area in which we are very familiar with.”

“We employed a consultant to seek out the business opportunities that were available to us in the capital and this decision has added to our continued success.”

Established since 1948, H & E Smith, uses traditional techniques, coupled with an inherently skilled work force, allowing the company tremendous flexibility in producing bespoke ranges of varying size, shape and glaze finish.  In the past H & E Smith have worked on a number of projects including, Meysson Bakery in Amsterdam and Sam’s Chop House in Manchester